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Over £19 million of BEMS and building controls projects financed across the UK public sector

Submitted by Salix on Tue, 13/03/2018 - 10:31am

Salix will be running workshops on BEMS and building controls for the public sector later this year in May and June. These will be an opportunity to learn more about best practise for the design and operation of these systems, as well as how Salix funding can be utilised to help with the upfront costs of installation. If you work for a public sector organisation and are interested in attending please contact billy.cliffen@salixfinance.co.uk.

Salix have financed the delivery of over £19 million of Building Energy Management Systems (BEMS) and building controls projects. This has brought estimated annual savings of around £6 million on energy bills.

BEMS provide the central point of control for the operation of building services throughout an estate. To a major extent, BEMS are used to control heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC), but can be extended to include all building support services. They also provide a way to monitor and rapidly adjust equipment, improving the reliability and performance of buildings and delivering substantial savings.

BEMS enables the optimisation of performance, savings of 10% can typically be realised in total building energy consumption and carbon footprint with proactive management and continuous improvement. In addition, the financial savings from reduced maintenance costs and improved plant longevity are often even more substantial than the energy efficiency gains.

Salix funding can be used for projects involving capital expenditure. In addition to installing a new BEMS system, this can include:

upgrading an existing system to provide new methods of control, and

expanding the scope of an existing system to reach areas and equipment not currently being controlled.

The installation and expansion of BEMS has a strong financial and carbon saving business case that has a typical payback of 2 to 3 years, therefore meeting the criteria for the technology to be fully financed by Salix. The business case for installing or upgrading an existing BEMS system is further strengthened when combined with other energy efficiency technology such as efficient heating and ventilation (HVAC) and LED lighting; all of which could be controlled by the central BEMS network. Many BEMS also enable a site’s energy consumption to be more-closely monitored through Automatic Meter Reading (AMR) technology which could aid verification of energy savings. This could also lead to the identification of further energy efficiency improvements.

In these challenging fiscal times for the public sector, the opportunity to install a BEMS to deliver quick-win savings has never been stronger.

Salix Case studies:

Scottish Agricultural College used a £120,341, 100% interest free finance from Salix to install a new state-of-the-art BEMS and controls. Their new BEMS saved them over £49,200 in annual energy cost savings and CO2e savings of over 320 tonnes a year.

Joan Chalmers, Energy Manager at the College, said; “The Salix 100% interest free loan has enabled the Scottish Agricultural College to install new energy saving equipment that would not otherwise have been possible through other financial means. This has helped to achieve target savings for energy and will provide a substantial contribution towards the overall target for emissions reductions (by 2015/16).”

The University of Chichester used a £10,900, 100% interest free finance from Salix to install new BEMS and controls. Annually their new BEMS saved them £2,759 in energy cost and 1.04 tCO2e.

Further funding for BEMS and other energy efficiency projects is available now, and details can be found at https://www.salixfinance.co.uk/loans. Salix can provide part or full funding for projects, with funding allocated based on value for money both in terms of financial payback on funding requested and estimated carbon savings.

Salix are keen to work with clients in delivering these workshops. If you have delivered a BEMS project at a public sector organisation and would be interested to share your experiences through a short presentation, please do get in touch.

We are also looking to work with clients to host the workshops and would be grateful for any clients who can to help with this. If you are able to support in anyway then please contact billy.cliffen@salixfinance.co.uk

Salix Finance Ltd is an independent, not for profit company funded by The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, The Welsh Assembly Government and The Scottish Government. Salix works in partnership with The Higher Education Funding Council for England on its Revolving Green Fund.